A man convicted of the murder of an Indian couple three years ago has lost his appeal against the death sentence at Dubai's highest court.
The construction worker, 26 at the time, stabbed Hiren and Vidhi Adhiya as they slept at their home in Mirador, Arabian Ranches, Dubai, on June 17, 2020.
He was found guilty of the couple's murder by Dubai Criminal Court in April last year.
Appeals were heard at Dubai Court of First Instance and Dubai Court of Appeal, both of which upheld the verdict.
The Dubai Court of Cassation judgment said the sentence would be carried out once approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, according to criminal procedures law.
Planned to steal cash and jewellery
During the initial hearing at Dubai Criminal Court, judges were told the Pakistani man had hidden outside the home of Hiren Adhiya, 48, and Vidhi Adhiya, 40, for six hours.
After the lights went off, he snuck into the villa through an unlocked patio door. He planned to steal money and jewellery he had seen in the house when he worked with a maintenance team in December 2019.
After stealing Dh1,965 ($535) in cash from a wallet on the ground floor, he went upstairs to search for more.
Mr Adhiya woke to the sound of his bedside drawer opening and the intruder stabbed him to death before turning to his wife.
Forensic reports revealed Mr Adhiya was stabbed 10 times in the head, chest, abdomen and left shoulder.
His wife was stabbed 14 times in her head, neck, chest, face, ear and right arm. The knife was found to have penetrated their blanket several times.
As the attacker walked out of the bedroom, he met the couple’s daughter, then aged 18, and stabbed her in the neck.
The girl and her younger sister, then 13, called the police and one of her father’s friends.
Investigators found a bloody handprint on the wall and samples taken from a mask found on the victims’ bed matched the man’s DNA.
The knife used in the murder was found about 500 metres from the villa.
The man was arrested in Sharjah the following day and, during questioning, he admitted to premeditated murder, attempted murder and theft.
He told prosecutors his mother in Pakistan had fallen ill three days before the murder and he was thinking of ways he could provide her with money.
When he first appeared in court in November 2020, he changed his plea and denied all charges.
The eldest daughter told judges that about 1.30am that night she had heard cries for help from her parents' bedroom.
She used the torch light on her mobile phone to check on what was happening upstairs.
“I met him at the room’s door and he stabbed me at sight but I kicked him before he fled,” she told judges.
A friend of her father said the girl had called him at 2am and was hysterical.
“She was screaming and her mother was dead and her father was still moving and [she said] that she was stabbed too,” he said in court.
“I thought she had a nightmare at first but when my wife and I arrived at the villa we saw police and an ambulance.”
Throughout court proceedings, prosecutors sought the death penalty against the man, stressing that the crime had been planned.
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
